A Matter of Identity

ALT | International Shorts

Identity is a complicated construct that affects our lives from when we first become self-aware to our death. Questions like, "Where did I come from?" and "Where am I going?" have been transformed by technology like DNA analysis, while the concept of privacy barely exists in the age of social media, sharing, and identity theft. This program of short films explores aspects of identity in moving, creative, and enlightening ways, giving us some different perspectives on this essential part of ourselves and others.

Director: Sheridan O'Donnell / USA, 2019, 14 min.
After one of them becomes a mother, longtime but now-distant friends Sam and Nic attempt to reconnect during a long night full of wine, secrets, and lies. more...

Director: Ivan Sosnin / Russia, 2019, 17 min.
Coming across a children’s book her mother wrote with the biological father she never knew (now a famous author) prompts journalism student Sonya to track him down. more...

Director: Yuchao Feng / China, 2019, 14 min.
In a desolate Chinese fishing village, a young girl lives a tough life with her brother and their single mother, who is trapped by poverty and struggling to survive. more...

Director: Nao Izumi / Japan, 2018, 5 min.
A young woman’s poetic exploration of her fractured identity in a digital age, where self-image is transient and malleable, and old grounding points have been lost. more...

Director: Cameron Richards / UK, 2019, 14 min.
As Jenny sits on a bench by the beach, she is joined by friends, family, and loved ones in a series of seemingly random encounters that lead to a devastating conclusion. more...